By Emi Smart, Staff Writer  Suddenly, the door opens, and a middle aged woman with glasses and a clipboard walks in. It’s Ms. Landis, the campus monitor. “Can I speak with Emily Smart for a moment?” she asks. The whole class looks up from their phones and glares at me. I sigh, and walk out behind her. “You have two unexcused absences from two weeks … Continue reading We’re All Virtually Absent Here: Why—and How Attendance This Year Needs to Change

By Jess McComb, Features Editor It was a Tuesday morning, Mt. Bachelor had received some much needed snow the night before and I was jonesing for that Northwest Bowl powder. Of course, a parking pass is the modern equivalent to gold for local ski enthusiasts and by that standard, my trek to the mountain was not made alone. Accompanying me in the cramped space of … Continue reading Mt. Bachelor: Parking Reservations Gone Amok

By Brooke Leggat, Sports Editor With the surging tension of the college application season, many high school students feel  compelled to stack their resumes with a top-notch GPA, unsurpassable standardized test scores and remarkable college essays. For decades these three pillars have carried the academic weight for college applicants across the country. But, increasingly, high-school students are expected to be well-rounded. Colleges and universities, moved … Continue reading Club Activities: For Passion or for Resume Padding?

By Julia Burdsall, Editor-in-Chief New to the scene, Kevista Coffee, widely known as “Kevista,” joined the Westside’s coffee community in 2019. Nestled between Dutch Bros and First Interstate bank and housed in the old Skjersaa’s building on Century, Kevista captured one of the most prime locations in Bend—making them the new hot spot for locals, tourists and evening workaholics with a crippling caffeine addiction. The … Continue reading Kevista: Coffee with a side of Covid-19

By Ellie Skjersaa, News Editor Orange leaves line the sidewalks throughout the city of Bend and Trump and Biden’s dueling campaign signs stand proudly in people’s front yards. The year is 2020—the year of a worldwide pandemic, the year of the Black Lives Matter campaign, and hopefully the year we get a new president. Trump has recently announced that, if reelected, he plans to defund … Continue reading Defunding Planned Parenthood? Might as Well Say Taking Away Our Rights

By Brooke Leggat High school: said to be the best and worst years of your life. But hey, at least you’ve escaped the horrors of middle school acne and worries about who was wearing a skirt to school the next day so you “wouldn’t be alone”! Wrong.  Though free of correlating outfits or acne, who knew my Junior year would consist of reviewing seventh grade … Continue reading The NOT-so-Non-Profit: The College Board and its ingenious Scholastic Assessment Test

By Julia Burdsall I paid the $95 fee per test. I studied my rigorous Advanced Placement material for roughly two weeks. I attempted to review seven units of AP U.S. History, Physics 1, and English Language and Composition on my own. I subdued the stress sowed by the seeds of a worldwide pandemic only to replace it with the stress of online standardized testing. I … Continue reading The College Board is a scam. Here’s why.

By: Julia Burdsall Roughly six years have passed since the devastating Ebola virus outbreak in west Africa. Fortunately, the rapid formation of treatment centers and isolation zones, the creation of charitable organizations worldwide, and vigorous screening of passengers at entrance ports aided the African continent in slowing and eventually bringing to a halt the spread of the deadly virus within a year’s time.  Despite the … Continue reading A Message to Our Government

By: Jess McComb On most weekdays in April, the shrill sound of an 8 o clock alarm signals what’s to come: a rushed breakfast and a groggy race to claim the closest spot in a packed parking lot. This sacred tradition, however, has fallen to PJs and pillows, the new normal of digital classroom environments.  Scrambling to uphold academics during a pandemic, most schools have … Continue reading The Uncharted Waters of Webex

By: Barbara Norton “Hey Chloe, can you play some music?” Jake asks me, nearly hitting the car parked next to us as he backs out.  “Sure thing,” I choke out. Oh God. My eyes shift down to the thin black cord of doom, aka the AUX cord.  Up until he uttered those six words, I had been excited to go out to lunch with Jake … Continue reading AUX-iety

By Brooke Leggat Photo by Daniel Corneschi  As the end of this school year grows near, several Storm students have begun thinking about what classes, clubs and sports they’re interested in for next year. Meanwhile, others are packing their bags and embarking on a new type of high school experience, one overseas. Rotary International is an organization that prides itself on connecting students across the globe … Continue reading Don’t Wait Until College to Study Abroad

By Madison Chambers As lunchtime comes to a close, Subarus and Nissan Accords with Yung Gravy blaring from the radio roar into the Storm parking lot. While students hustle through the doors of Summit, trash from lunch is often dropped or thrown, accumulating in the parking lot. Although the interior of students’ cars are clean, the parking lot is not. Additionally, littering students often have … Continue reading Who’s trashing the Summit parking lot?

By Julia Burdsall Of the 8760 hours that fill this new year, the first 336 that we have experienced thus far have left the world speechless. They have blown all expectations out of the water and have acted as a unique start to this celebratory New year. In particular: a slightly problematic assasination turned into what might become, according to Instagram memes, WWIII; Australia might … Continue reading New year, New beginnings

By Pilar Carson Trade schools, public universities, and private liberal arts colleges: many of us Storm students will continue our educational careers after high school. However, choosing an environment that suits one’s needs and values is important- and often challenging. For this purpose, I’m walking you through some basic, interchangeable steps to find your ideal college and maximize your time in high school.      That brings … Continue reading How to find your ideal college

A profound shift away from religious affiliation proves prominent within Generation Z By Kenady Storandt As the world continues on its orbit around the sun and it’s geographical terrain continues to evolve, the religious landscape in the U.S follows a similar trend. On an average Sunday in the outdoorsy town of Bend, the sun is beating down, acting as a warm blanket for the plethora … Continue reading Losing my religion

By Thomas Schwiebert There will always be a division between the master and the novice; the student and the teacher; the superior and the subordinate. Yet recently, common ground has been attained between Storm students and teachers over one concern: survival. One of the unifying issues among both teachers and students is the ongoing problem of school safety. Hardly a week passes without news of … Continue reading Government inadequacy drives new high school safety protocols

By Julia Burdsall Gone are the days of watching nine innings of your favorite team at the ballpark while chowing down on an overpriced hotdog; Baseball is no longer America’s pastime. With three times the nicotine of a normal e-cigarette, the JUUL has been banned in Europe. Never fear, America’s laissez-faire approach to tobacco keeps the JUUL industry alive and well. Just ask any Storm … Continue reading Teens take the edge off, hit the JUUL